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Which colleges and universities are the most influential in the US? And which are the most influential schools in the world?

Find excellent universities in your field, see which colleges have made the biggest historical impact in your discipline, find out which schools are both influential and affordable, and more!
How we measure influence…
What is desirability?

Name

Country

Discipline

Subdiscipline

Min Year of Influence

Max Year of Influence

# 1

#1 overall influence

#2 desirability score

Harvard University

Private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

25K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/34

Cambridge, MA

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# 2

#2 overall influence

University of London

Federal research university in London, England

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# 3

#10 overall influence

#1 desirability score

Stanford University

Private research university located in Stanford, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$51K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1495/33

Stanford, CA

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# 4

#20 overall influence

#21 desirability score

Johns Hopkins University

University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

92%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Baltimore, MD

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# 5

#3 overall influence

#6 desirability score

Columbia University

Private Ivy League research university in New York City

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

28K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

New York, NY

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# 6

#17 overall influence

#10 desirability score

University of Pennsylvania

Private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1485/33

Philadelphia, PA

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# 7

#16 overall influence

#44 desirability score

New York University

Private research university in New York City

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

20%

Graduation

85%

Student body

47K

Median SAT/ACT

1410/31

New York, NY

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# 8

#7 overall influence

#4 desirability score

Yale University

Private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

Graduation

98%

Student body

15K

Median SAT/ACT

1515/34

New Haven, CT

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# 9

#15 overall influence

#37 desirability score

University of Michigan

Public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Tuition + fees

$16K

Acceptance

23%

Graduation

91%

Student body

42K

Median SAT/ACT

1420/32

Ann Arbor, MI

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# 10

#398 overall influence

Massachusetts General Hospital

Teaching hospital in Massachusetts, United States

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# 11

#37 overall influence

University of Manchester

Public research university in Manchester, England

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# 12

#23 overall influence

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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# 13

#165 overall influence

University of California, San Francisco

University

Student body

San Francisco, CA

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# 14

#13 overall influence

University of Edinburgh

Public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

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# 15

#31 overall influence

#12 desirability score

Duke University

Private university in Durham, North Carolina, United States

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

15K

Median SAT/ACT

1510/34

Durham, NC

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# 16

#44 overall influence

#69 desirability score

University of Washington

Public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

49%

Graduation

84%

Student body

46K

Median SAT/ACT

1340/29

Seattle, WA

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# 17

#50 overall influence

Imperial College London

Public research university located in London, United Kingdom

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# 18

#6 overall influence

#29 desirability score

University of California, Berkeley

Public research university in Berkeley, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

92%

Student body

41K

Median SAT/ACT

1425/33

Berkeley, CA

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# 19

#14 overall influence

#14 desirability score

Cornell University

Private university in Ithaca

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

94%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1465/33

Ithaca, NY

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# 20

#38 overall influence

#56 desirability score

Boston University

Private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

22%

Graduation

87%

Student body

30K

Median SAT/ACT

1415/31

Boston, MA

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# 21

#11 overall influence

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

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# 22

#67 overall influence

#987 desirability score

University of Pittsburgh

State-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Tuition + fees

$19K

Acceptance

59%

Graduation

81%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1350/30

Pittsburgh, PA

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# 23

#39 overall influence

#30 desirability score

University of Southern California

Private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

13%

Graduation

92%

Student body

37K

Median SAT/ACT

1440/32

Los Angeles, CA

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# 24

#24 overall influence

#31 desirability score

University of California, Los Angeles

Public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$13K

Acceptance

14%

Graduation

91%

Student body

44K

Median SAT/ACT

1405/32

Los Angeles, CA

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# 25

#66 overall influence

#20 desirability score

Washington University in St. Louis

University in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

94%

Student body

12K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/33

Saint Louis, MO

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# 26

#42 overall influence

McGill University

English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec

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# 27

#28 overall influence

#24 desirability score

Northwestern University

Private research university with campuses in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, United States

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

19K

Median SAT/ACT

1490/34

Evanston, IL

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# 28

#146 overall influence

McMaster University

Public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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# 29

#9 overall influence

#3 desirability score

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

Graduation

93%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1535/35

Cambridge, MA

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# 30

#34 overall influence

#890 desirability score

University of Minnesota

Public research university in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

Tuition + fees

$15K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

78%

Student body

44K

Median SAT/ACT

1375/28

Minneapolis, MN

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# 31

#5 overall influence

#8 desirability score

University of Chicago

Private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Tuition + fees

$57K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

12K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/34

Chicago, IL

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# 32

#4 overall influence

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

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# 33

#111 overall influence

#41 desirability score

Emory University

Private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Tuition + fees

$51K

Acceptance

19%

Graduation

91%

Student body

13K

Median SAT/ACT

1435/32

Atlanta, GA

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# 34

#115 overall influence

#16 desirability score

Vanderbilt University

Private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

10%

Graduation

92%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Nashville, TN

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# 35

#73 overall influence

#25 desirability score

Tufts University

Private research university in Medford/Somerville, Massachusetts

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

92%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1455/32

Medford, MA

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# 36

#43 overall influence

#40 desirability score

University of Virginia

Public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Tuition + fees

$17K

Acceptance

26%

Graduation

94%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1415/32

Charlottesville, VA

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University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

# 37

#862 overall influence

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

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# 38

#54 overall influence

University of Birmingham

University in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

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# 39

#61 overall influence

#76 desirability score

George Washington University

University in Washington, D.C.

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

42%

Graduation

84%

Student body

21K

Median SAT/ACT

1370/30

Washington, DC

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# 40

#97 overall influence

University of Melbourne

Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria

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# 41

#69 overall influence

#19 desirability score

Georgetown University

Private university in Washington, D.C., United States

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

94%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1450/32

Washington, DC

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# 42

#560 overall influence

Baylor College of Medicine

Private medical school in Houston, Texas, United States

Student body

Houston, TX

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# 43

#49 overall influence

#71 desirability score

University of California, San Diego

Public university in La Jolla, California, United States

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

30%

Graduation

87%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1365/30

La Jolla, CA

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# 44

#78 overall influence

University of Sydney

Australian university founded in 1850

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# 45

#36 overall influence

#7 desirability score

Brown University

University in Providence, Rhode Island

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

96%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1485/33

Providence, RI

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# 46

#141 overall influence

#110 desirability score

Case Western Reserve University

University in Ohio, United States

Tuition + fees

$49K

Acceptance

29%

Graduation

82%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1435/32

Cleveland, OH

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# 47

#8 overall influence

#5 desirability score

Princeton University

Private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1505/33

Princeton, NJ

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# 48

#157 overall influence

University of Warwick

University in Coventry, United Kingdom

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# 49

#1163 overall influence

Rush University

University

Tuition + fees

$30K

Student body

Chicago, IL

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# 50

#213 overall influence

#136 desirability score

Yeshiva University

Jewish University located in Manhattan

Tuition + fees

$44K

Acceptance

60%

Graduation

82%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1270/26

New York, NY

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